The cast of Marvel Studios’ Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is growing, as Brandon Davis of ComicBook.com is reporting that Dominique Thorne will be joining the film, with her character of Riri Williams set to debut in the upcoming sequel.
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Thorne, who is set to play Riri Williams in the upcoming Ironheart series coming to Disney+, will first see her character arrive at the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the highly anticipated next entry in the Black Panther series. Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige confirmed the news in an interview with ComicBook.com.
“We’re shooting Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, right now, and the character of Riri Williams, you will meet in Black Panther 2 first,” Feige said. “She started shooting, I think, this week before her Ironheart series.”
Riri Williams is a teenage engineering genius in the Marvel Comics universe and designs her own version of an Iron Man suit to use. Following her father’s death, she continues to live with her mother and eventually is accepted into MIT, where she continues to build her own version of the Iron Man armor.
Based on the Marvel Comics by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever will continue to explore the incomparable world of Wakanda and all of the rich and varied characters introduced in the first film.
The sequel will once again be directed and written by Ryan Coogler. It will see the return of most of its original main cast including Lupita Nyong’o as Nakia, Danai Gurira as Okoye, Martin Freeman as Everett K. Ross, and Letitia Wright as Shuri. In addition, Tenoch Huerta (Narcos: Mexico) has also reportedly been cast as the film’s antagonist, with some fans and outlets speculating that he might be playing the role of Namor.
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Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is currently slated to hit theaters on July 8, 2022, nearly two years following the untimely passing of titular star and acclaimed actor Chadwick Boseman, who died at the age of 43 after his four-year-long private battle with colon cancer.